Inside This & That, a gift shop located at 55 Main St. in downtown Torrington.
Register Citizen File Photo

TORRINGTON >> When Main Street Marketplace closes down for the final time this summer, so too will another Main Street business. This & That, an assorted goods shop specializing in sports memorabilia and collectibles, is closing this week to relocate to Great Barrington, Massachusetts.

This & That is owned and run by Reggie Davis and wife Crystal, who have been at the 55 Main St. location for two years. Prior to that, Davis’ shop had operated in Winsted for eight years.

It is a bittersweet goodbye for Davis, who has devoted the last decade of his life to the business in the neighboring Winsted and Torrington communities. He will return to Great Barrington, 50 minutes north of Torrington, where he grew up and attended high school. Davis said he still has family and friends there.

“I built this up, this business. I did all this on my own and it took a lot of time and it took everything I had. I’m going to miss everything and I just want all my friends, family to come and share this with me,” Davis said.

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He’s invited friends, family and customers alike to come and take in the final moments of This & That in Torrington.

“I want to personally thank each one of them on Thursday night,” he said. “These customers over 10 years, you build a relationship, a friendship with some of these people.”

The new store, Davis said, will retain the name and spirit of Torrington’s This & That. He is currently looking at several locations in Great Barrington but is unsure if he’d like to expand the size of the store.

Davis’ goal is not to bring anything to the new location and start off with all new merchandise. For the next three days, he will attempt to clear the decks by selling his goods at a reduced price.

“I’m trying to sell everything,” Davis said. “I want to sell every single piece of merchandise in my store Thursday night. I’m not giving it away, but it’s close.”

Thursday night, Davis will invite special guest Ron Zombie, a Connecticut wrestler and musician who Davis called a close friend. Ron Zombie, who bears a striking resemblance to rock star and Roxbury resident Rob Zombie, will sign autographs and take photos. He will also be on-hand to raffle off one of Rob Zombie’s signed electric guitars.

For every $10 a customer spends, they’ll receive a raffle ticket. Ron Zombie will be at the store from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday and will announce the raffle winner just before leaving.

Prior to opening the store in Winsted in 2004, Davis had been a property manager who moonlighted as a memorabilia collector. He would claim a seat at flea markets and other gatherings and sell his collectibles whenever he got the chance. More often than not, he found that the booth next to him would be occupied by a gentleman name Howard Nodine. Davis said that he was known as “the beanie baby guy.”

Nodine and Davis began discussing opening a business together where they could each sell their collectibles. At first, Davis said, “it was just talk.” But, when a storefront right off Main Street in Winsted opened, the duo jumped on the opportunity. They split the hours, both retaining their day jobs and running the store on the side.

Eventually, it became a full-time job for both of them. Nodine retired after two years, around the time that Davis decided to move the store to Torrington, where a similar sized shop was available in a better location. Davis’ Winsted shop had been just off of Winsted’s main drag, while the Torrington store was actually on Main Street, in the middle of the city’s revitalized downtown area.

Once Davis calls it a night on Thursday, the count will be up to three downtown area businesses that have closed this summer alone in Torrington. Bogey’s Restaurant and Downtown Café each shut their doors for a final time in July and August, respectively.